Special Air Service

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Official force name

Special Air Service

Nicknames

The Regiment
The SAS
(British Army phonetic) "the sass"

Motto

"Who Dares Wins"

Description

Britain's main Special Operations Force.

Readiness

Unknown, but able to deploy counter-terror teams quickly.

Specialisations

Counter-terrorism, Long-range patrols, Operations behind enemy lines, Counter-revolutionary warfare, Intelligence gathering, Raids, Support of general purpose forces (GPF).

Headquarters

Creation date

Reason for creation

Desert raiding force to weaken German operations in North Africa.

The Special Air Service (SAS) is the principal special forces organisation of the British Army. Formed in 1941 to conduct raids behind German lines in North Africa, it is now perhaps the best known special forces unit in the world. At present, there are three separate regiments within the SAS:

  • 22 SAS is the lone unit within the Regular Army.
  • 21 SAS and 23 SAS are both units of the Territorial Army.

The main responsibilities of the SAS are believed to be:

  1. To conduct military operations in denied areas (e.g. raids and intelligence gathering behind enemy lines).
  2. To conduct military counter-terrorist operations within the UK (including hostage rescue).

They also provide VIP protection on certain occasions (such as when a British Prime Minister visits a warzone), and sometimes work in a training or support role for allied militaries.

World War Two

The SAS was founded by then Lieutenant David Stirling during World War II. It was originally created to conduct raids and sabotage far behind enemy lines in the desert, and operated in conjunction with the existing Long Range Desert Group. Stirling (formerly of No.8 Commando) looked for recruits with rugged individualism and initiative and recruited specialists from Layforce and other units. The name "Special Air Service" was already in use as a deception.

Their first mission, parachuting behind enemy lines in support of General Sir Claude Auchinleck's attack in November 1941, was a disaster. Only 22 out of 62 troopers reached the rendezvous. Stirling still managed to organise another attack against the German airfields at Aqedabia, Site and Agheila, this time transported by the LRDG. They destroyed 61 enemy aircraft without a single casualty. 1st SAS earned regimental status and Stirling's brother Bill began to organise a second regiment, 2 SAS.

During the desert war they performed many successful and daring long range insertion missions and destroyed aircraft and fuel depots. Their success contributed towards Hitler issuing his Kommandobefehl order to execute all captured Commandos. When the Germans stepped up security, the SAS switched to hit-and-run tactics. They used jeeps armed with Vickers K machine guns and used tracer ammunition to ignite fuel and aircraft. They took part in Operation Torch.

David Stirling was captured by the Italians in January 1943 and he spent the rest of the war as a prisoner of war in Colditz castle. His brother Bill Stirling and 'Paddy' Blair Mayne took command of the SAS. Prior to the Normandy Invasion, SAS men were inserted into France as 4-man teams to help maquisards of the French Resistance. In Operation Houndsmith, 144 SAS men parachuted with jeeps and supplies into Dijon, France. During and after D-Day they continued their raids against fuel depots, communications centres and railways. They did suffer casualties—at one stage the Germans executed 24 SAS soldiers and a US Army Air Force pilot. At the end of the war, the SAS hunted down SS and Gestapo officers. By that time the SAS had been expanded to five regiments, including two French and one Belgian.

Post-war

After the war, the British War Office did not entirely disband the SAS regiments, but the French and Belgians returned to their own countries. The British SAS was no longer a regular army unit but Territorial Army Unit 21 SAS Regiment still existed. However, in April 1948, the Malay Races Liberation Army began an insurrection which transformed into the Malayan Emergency. Two years later Brigadier Mike Calvert practically re-created the SAS as a commando unit reminiscent of jungle troops like Chindits. Territorial Unit 21 SAS was redeployed from the Korean War and sent to Malaya. Many other members were recruited from the original SAS, other units, Rhodesia, and even army prisons. The intended unit name "Malay Scouts" was scrapped for the reborn SAS.

Training new recruits took time. They learned tracking skills from Iban soldiers from Borneo. They began to patrol in teams of 2 or 4 men. Less than sanitary conditions forced them to learn first aid. They also learned local languages and respect for the local customs and culture. Patrol periods in the jungle were progressively extended to three months. Soldiers unsuitable for jungle warfare were RTUed (Returned to Unit). At that stage some troopers were armed with pump-action shotguns. They also earned the respect of some of the indigenes by helping them. By the end of 1955 there were 5 SAS squadrons in Malaya. They stayed in mopping up operations until the end of 1958.

Strings of other missions followed. The SAS fought anti-sultan rebels in Jebel Akhdar, Oman in 1958-1959. They fought Indonesian-supported "guerillas" during the Indonesian Confrontation in Borneo, Brunei and Sarawak in 1963-1966. They also tried to pacify the situation in Aden in 1964-1967 before the withdrawal of British troops. They fought against another insurrection in Dhofar, Oman in 1970-1977.

Most of these deployments were clandestine. Membership, missions, and the whole existence of SAS became a secret. The Regiment's role was expanded to bodyguard training, counterinsurgency and counter-terrorism. They also began to work in civilian clothes on missions unless they could use uniforms of some other unit as a ruse. The British Secretary of State for Defence still does not discuss the SAS or its operations.

Counter Terrorism

The Regiment's counter-terrorism role began in the 1950s, indeed they were reformed for deployment in the Malayan Emergency against the mainly ethnic Chinese MPABA (Malayan Peoples Anti British Army) led by Chin Peng. However the regular SAS did not obtain special financing to develop this capability until the 1970s.

In Northern Ireland the SAS was involved from the early days in what became known as ‘The Troubles’ which started in 1969. Indeed in the early days of The Troubles they operated openly in uniform wearing the SAS sand coloured beret with the SAS cloth winged dagger cap badge. In later years there was much made in the press about SAS deployments to the Province, but this publicity bore little resemblance to the actual tours of duty by SAS squadrons having more to do with government propaganda and press speculation.

In the Northern Ireland Troubles the SAS were given priority in the intelligence pecking order and supplied the most credible or ‘hard’ intelligence. This gave the SAS the all too rare opportunity in a CRO campaign (Counter Revolutionary Operations) to act proactively and aggressively by laying ambushes and placing COPs (Covert Observation Posts). SAS teams thus had the best chance of being in a position to spring an ambush against mainly Republican Terrorists. Indeed a goodly few of these ambushes occurred, some successful and some notably less so.

Lesser quality intelligence was supplied to infantry COP teams (Covert Observation Post) who because of the tenuous quality of this intelligence were unlikely to get a contact (armed encounter) with the Players (British forces colloquialism for Terrorists), even though these COP teams operated in very similar ways to SAS teams. It was common for SAS trained soldiers to serve with 14 Intelligence Company (known colloquially as 14 Int or often simply as The Det because its members were volunteers who were detached from other units). A specialist unit set up specifically for Northern Ireland, 14 Int is an all arms unit. That means they recruit from all branches of the armed services, including women. They served in The Province in an intelligence gathering role, mainly operating in plain clothes. 14 Int liased closely with the RUC (Royal Ulster Constabulary) Special Branch and other SF (Security Force) formations.

22 SAS's reputation, or rather mystique, grew to the extent that during the Balcombe Street siege, the IRA surrendered once the SAS deployment was publicised. The regiment were brought sharply to the public's attention during the Iranian embassy siege in London on April 30 1980. The live televising of Operation Nimrod brought the SAS much publicity.

During the Falklands War 1982, SAS teams worked, with their Special Boat Service counterparts, in many operations before the main force landings at San Carlos and after the landings ahead of the FEBA (Forward Edge of Battle Area- the front line). These included operations in South Georgia, guiding Harrier attacks on Port Stanley airport to destroy Argentine helicopters, and the destruction of 11 Pucara jet fighters on Pebble Island. During the war the 22 SAS under the commmand of Lt Col Mike Rose were the only land formation that had their own satellite communications back to the UK.

In the Gulf War, the SAS's role was similar to their forerunners in World War Two: they deployed deep into Iraqi territory to gather intelligence and destroy mobile Scud missile launchers. They did the job with anything from explosives to jackhammers.

Allegedly some troopers (officially ex-members of the Regiment) fought in the Vietnam War and helped Mujahedeen in Afghanistan during the Soviet invasion. Some ex-members have also become mercenaries.

They are also involved in the War on Terrorism in Afghanistan. When Taliban and Al-Qaida prisoners tried to escape in Afghanistan, the SAS was reputedly called in. They also rescued two CIA men who were trapped behind enemy lines. Operation Trent employed half the Regiment in a successful attack on a $85million opium storage plant in Helmand province, which doubled as an Al-Qaida local command centre.

Home base and selection

The SAS has been based at Hereford in the west of England for many years. Stirling Lines, named after David Stirling, was initially the home of the Regiment but in 1999 they moved to a former RAF base at Credenhill on the outskirts of Hereford.

Commanding officer John Woodhouse introduced SAS Selection in 1952. Before that, troopers had earned their credentials in the field.

Some assert that SAS Selection is the toughest of any Special Forces unit in the world; it reputedly has only a 5% pass rate. It is a six month test of strength, endurance, and resolve over the Brecon Beacons and Elan Valley in Wales, and in the jungle of Brunei. The Namib Desert is also used as a desert training ground. The training includes tests of interrogation resistance. A candidate who fails the selection is 'RTU'd or returned to his former unit (regiment). Candidates are allowed only two attempts at passing. Regular candidates have to be in the army already, but Territorial Army candidates can apply to the SAS direct from civilian life.

After passing Selection, soldiers enter one of the Squadrons. Here they are assigned to a "Troop". Troops have different roles for example; Boat, Air, Mountain and Mobility each with special skills in their respective areas. Troopers lose their previous rank when they join the Regiment (although officers who hold a minimum rank of captain, do not) and have to work their way up again from the lowest rank, but revert to their original rank (with appropriate promotions for length of service) if they ever leave the SAS. They are on probation for four years before they are fully accepted, trusted and trained in the SAS. Specialist training includes:

  • first aid, to quite a high level with stints in busy hospitals Signals training,
  • HALO - High Altitude Low Opening a type of parachuting insertion technique,
  • Sniping - all SAS snipers are trained by the Royal Marines at the Sniper course at CTCRM (Commando Training Centre Royal Marines), and
  • Languages and vehicle skills.

The SAS has accepted members who have passed selection from the British Commonwealth with notable representations from Fiji, the former Rhodesia, New Zealand and Australia.

The SAS in Popular Culture

The British SAS Regiment since the mid 1970s has built up an almost mythical reputation.

It is the prime ingredient for a regular fare of heroic exploits of almost superhuman dimensions in the British tabloid press. This press obsession increased enormously following the dramatic 1980 hostage rescue at the Iranian Embassy siege in London, which was seen live on television.

The enigma, misinformation and myth surrounding the SAS has been exacerbated by government secrecy in all matters related to the Regiment aided by a good deal of government propaganda relating to the SAS, much released in behind the scenes press briefings resulting in press speculation about the Regiment's deployments.

The SAS was greatly popularized among young people all over the world in the extremely popular online game Counter-Strike. The SAS were added as part of the Counter-Terrorism units a player could chose to play as during the game's development.

Adding to all this there is a constant stream of fictional depictions of the SAS Regiment and of former SAS soldiers.

Blurring the line between fiction and fact are a number of supposedly factual accounts which, some allege, are in reality highly dramatised accounts based very loosely on actual events. Perhaps the two most well known examples being two books written under pseudonyms by two ex-SAS soldiers who served together on a patrol into Iraq in the first Gulf war of 1991:

Both of these works have subsequently been criticised by authoritative sources (including the Regimental Sergeant Major of 22 SAS at the time of the first Gulf war, Peter Ratcliffe DCM) as being highly embellished dramatisations of actual events with only a tenuous relation to reality.

Despite the alleged embellishments, these books sold very well and consequently started a me-too publishing bonanza by ex SAS soldiers cashing in on this clear public appetite. The British government has since moved to prevent this in future by insisting that all who serve with the Regiment sign an agreement not to publish details of their service with the Regiment.

As a result of the plethora of exaggeration, myth and plain falsehood put out as fact in relation to the British SAS and its methods of operation, anything written about the SAS should perhaps be treated with a very healthy dose of skepticism.

There is even the surprisingly common phenomenon of individuals attempting to bask in the reflected glory of the SAS by claiming to have served with the Regiment, when in reality they have had little or even no connection whatsoever with the SAS. This 'wannabe' phenomenon also occurs in relation to other special force units, both British and foreign.

This is all perhaps indicative of aspects of the human condition and psychology and tells us something about the birth of myth and legend.

Some written books about the SAS include:

  • The Phantom Major by Virginia Cowles (out of print) reconstructs the formation and early years of the SAS from accounts by Stirling and other members of the unit, written in the 1950s.
  • SAS: Borneo Story by James Albany (now out of print) semi official account of the SAS in the 1960s conflict with Indonesia
  • Eye of the Storm by Peter Ratcliffe DCM, who served with the Regiment for 25 years and became its Regimental Sergeant Major
  • SAS Operation Oman by Colonel Tony Jeapes, former SAS Commanding Officer during the Oman campaign of the early to mid 1970s
  • Who Dares Wins (The Special Air Service-1950 to the Gulf War) by Tony Geraghty, who has written much about the history of the SAS and its operations clearly with the help of current and ex-SAS members.
  • Where Soldiers Fear To Tread by Ranulph Fiennes (out of print) 1975. ISDN: 0340147547 A fascinating and often deeply moving personal account of the author's experiences on active service with the SAS in Oman in the late 60's and early 70's.

Other special forces

British - Special Boat Service, formerly Special Boat Squadron, Royal Marines 3rd Commando Brigade Recce Force - 3 Cdo Bde BRF(formerly Mountain & Arctic Warfare Cadre Royal Marines), 14th Intelligence Company

US - Delta Force was formed based along SAS organizational patterns as was the Israeli commando unit that carried out the Entebbe raid. New Zealand and Australia have their own SAS units.

German - GSG9

Israel - "The Unit" Sayeret Matkal

South African Recces

Books

  • Warner, Philip (1983): The SAS. The Official History. Sphere. ISBN 0722189109
  • Connor, Ken (1998): Ghost Force - The Secret History of the SAS. London: Weidenfeld and Nicholson. ISBN 0297840800 [unofficial history]

Also see

Some SAS Operations

  • Amherst April 1945 SAS airborne raid in The Netherlands.
  • Archway March 1945 SAS reconnaissance in support of the crossing of the Rhine.
  • Baobab January 1944 SAS raid on rail targets serving Anzio Italy.
  • Begonia/Jonquil October 1943 SAS rescue of POWs in Italy.
  • Candytuft October 1943 SAS raid on railroad targets in Italy.
  • Canuck January 1945 SAS operation in Northern Italy.
  • Chestnut July 1943 SAS raids supporting Sicily invasion.
  • Claret June 1964 series of SAS patrols into Indonesia.
  • Cold Comfort/Zombie February 1945 failed SAS raid on railroad targets near Verona.
  • Colossus February 1941 first airborne raid, raid on Italian aqueduct, origin of the term 'SAS' (but not the orgainsation).
  • Condor May 2002 operation in Afghanistan.
  • Defoe July 1944 SAS patrols in Normandy.
  • Driftwood 1944 SAS raid of railroad targets in Italy
  • Dunhill August 1944 SAS raid in support of the breakout from the Normandy beachhead.
  • Flavius March 1988 SAS operation against the IRA in Gibraltar.
  • Gaff July 1944 SAS attempt to kill Erwin Rommel.
  • Keyhole 1982 operations on South Georgia Island.
  • Keystone April 1945 SAS operation near Ijsselmeer.
  • Loyton August 1944 SAS operations neas the Belford Gap.
  • Narcissus July 1943 SAS capture of lighthouse in Sicily.
  • Nelson Planned June 1944 SAS operation in the Orleans Gap.
  • Newton August 1945 SAS attacks on German rear areas.
  • Nimrod April 1980 SAS rescue of hostages in the Iranian embassy in London.
  • Noah August 1944 SAS attack on retreating Germans in Belgium.
  • Savannah March 1941 attempt to kill German pilots and aircrew by pre SAS French paratroops.
  • Tombola March 1945 major SAS operation around Bologna